Ilse’s Reviews > Modern Italy: A Political History > Status Update
Ilse
is on page 95 of 522
Attempts to make Rome a capital in the style of Paris were to fail. Rome remained a city of the past - ancient, medieval or baroque. It was not a town of theaters and banks, but of churches, palaces and monuments. Some people called it too southern, others too international, others too corrupt, and it soon became fashionable to lament that the capital was not somewhere else.
— Aug 12, 2026 03:55AM
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Ilse’s Previous Updates
Ilse
is on page 95 of 522
Successive governments tried hard to catch the imagination and sympathy of the common people in the capital. The results were not always in good taste. Palazzi were converted into government departments, the flora of the Colosseum was stripped off, excavations began on the site of the forums. Hare was later to write that a few years of Italian rule had done more to destroy Rome than the Goths and Vandals together.
— Aug 09, 2026 11:55PM
Ilse
is on page 78 of 522
Sicily had to endure large-scale military operations.Govone cut off water from villages in the middle of the Sicilian heat& used torture to exact information, burning people alive in their houses.Northeners had little idea of the social and economic derangement which unification had brought to the South, &when feelings of revolt became more intense,this was treated as simple lawlessness calling for police repression.
— Aug 08, 2026 05:51AM
Ilse
is on page 64 of 522
The Italy resulting from the plebiscites seemed artificial &deficient in national character.Italian culture still lacked a distinct identity of its own: the intellectual classes looked to France for their lead &other liberal politicians to England.Regional self-suffiency could not be broken down & there had been no social revolution to convince the peasants that they were participants in,not victims of,the new order.
— Jul 25, 2026 05:08AM
Ilse
is on page 28 of 522
Vittorio Emanuele became King of Italy in 1861.Because of the challenge of republicanism and the need to overshadow Garibaldi in popular esteem, an official apologetic and panegyric was developed to inflate his reputation.The true picture hidden behind clouds of incense is of a usually insignificant man,good-natured and shrewd,but superstitious and ill-educated, possessing little of the luster and aureole of majesty.
— Jul 24, 2026 08:27AM
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Jan-Maat
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Aug 12, 2026 05:01AM
Wasn't Turin the capital for the first few years of the united Italy?
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Jan-Maat wrote: "Wasn't Turin the capital for the first few years of the united Italy?"Indeed! The first capital of modern unified Italy was Turin which served as the capital from 1861 to 1865, followed by Florence from 1865 to 1871 - Rome still needed to be conquered from the pope :). It strikes me, reading this book, how these regional rivalries and disparaging opinions on other regions from the past seem still alive today (from what I read, and heard in the small conversations I had in July with people living in Genua, Rome and Milan).
Ilse wrote: "Jan-Maat wrote: "Wasn't Turin the capital for the first few years of the united Italy?"Indeed! The first capital of modern unified Italy was Turin which served as the capital from 1861 to 1865, fo..."
Oh, i had never heard that Florence had been the capital, a better location than Turin I suppose. I imagine a federal system like Germany's 2nd empire might have given some regions more of a chance to flourish.
Imagine - not wanting Rome - Rome! - to be the capital! (I spent several months living in Rome in the 1990s as a student.)
Jan-Maat wrote:I imagine a federal system like Germany's 2nd empire might have given some regions more of a chance to flourish.Such discussion might be the subject of a book in itself :). Structuring the State: The Formation of Italy and Germany and the Puzzle of Federalism - the author considered the difference in the organisation of local power as crucial in the different unification process: the absence of well-developed local institutions in Italy dooming a similar federalism like in Germany. Psychologically and politically though, it seemed unwise to enforce what worked in the north on regions which were greatly different, economically and socially, without taking into account their problems and needs just because of the sake of uniformity.
Caterina wrote: "Imagine - not wanting Rome - Rome! - to be the capital! (I spent several months living in Rome in the 1990s as a student.)"
It made me laugh, Caterina, imagine indeed :)! Who wouldn't want such a fascinating city to be the capital! Although I wouldn't be surprised that many Italians feel ambivalent towards Rome, I guess such a feeling towards one's capital is not uncommon (thinking of the attitude towards Paris, Brussels...). At that time, anticlericalism in politics was paramount, likely that didn't help either to inspire love for Rome.
Livng several months in Rome as a student sounds like music to my ears - a dream! That must have been such a fabulous experience, Caterina? And such a boost for Italian.. Hopefully your studies did let you enough time to explore the city thoroughly? Have you returned since? In July, I spent a few days there with my children, alas there was so little time. But we managed to say hello to some paintings of Caravaggio again :). At first they didn't remember much anymore from the previous time we were there, in 2015 - but walking the streets, some memories came back - the turtle fountain and a certain pizzaria for instance :-).
Ilse wrote: "Jan-Maat wrote:I imagine a federal system like Germany's 2nd empire might have given some regions more of a chance to flourish.Such discussion might be the subject of a book in itself :). [book:St..."
Yes, no, you give the impression from what you quote that the south was de facto regarded as (a) conquered territory and (b) not really European.
Bismarck's solution was clever and efficient, because it was the easiest available to him (build an extra layer on top of the existing states and let them be) and that was not the easiest solution in Italy.
Ilse wrote: "Caterina wrote: "Imagine - not wanting Rome - Rome! - to be the capital! (I spent several months living in Rome in the 1990s as a student.)"
It made me laugh, Caterina, imagine indeed :)! Who wou..."
Not only did I get a chance to, I was required to explore Rome. Each student in fact "adopted" a section of Rome, walked it, sketched it, and provided a hand-drawn (photocopied) tour map to the other students. Probably my most sublime memory was completely unexpected and involved music. It was a cold, rainy day, I was recovering from bronchitis which had prevented me from going on some of the walks, and rather than continuing that day's too-fast foot-tour with the other students, I stopped to rest in a church whose name I forget (out of hundreds!) A group of women - nuns - came into the choir around the altar and began to sing in the most angelic voices. Instead of departing with my student group, I stayed for hours, it seems, to listen to the music.
I am so glad you had two opportunities to visit with your children! I think I must have missed the turtle fountain - how delightful! I hope you will get a chance to go again. I recommend visiting random churches -- for the beauty and sometimes the unexpected music.
About the ambivalence of Italians towards Rome and the Romans, you know what SPQR stands for in the Asterix comics right? 🤭